


A Matter of Time

by captainofbrooklyn



Category: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora's birth name is Diana, Adora's mom is from Florida, Eternia, F/M, Gen, Pre-Canon, The First Ones, explains a lot about adora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24670153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainofbrooklyn/pseuds/captainofbrooklyn
Summary: Marlena doesn't remember much about her daughter.
Relationships: Adora (She-Ra) & Marlena (He-Man), Marlena/Randor (He-Man)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First she-ra fic! I wrote this really quickly but I needed to fulfill my need for Adora's backstory. I just want Adora to meet her family, ok??

As much as she hates it, Marlena can barely remember her daughter. She had a puff of blonde hair and blue eyes and rosy-red baby cheeks, but that’s it. Her daughter loved to give toothless smiles and giggled at whatever nonsense Marlena whispered, and was entranced by the countless toys and stuffed animals Randor brought home after diplomatic missions. 

She also remembers her daughter’s name:  _ Diana _ . Randor had let her name the children. After all, Marlena’s family would never be able to visit. She’d never be able to show her children the beaches of Jacksonville where she’d grown up, nor would they know about Christmas and Mickey Mouse and Star Trek. Their names would be the only piece of her home she’d be able to give them. 

It was easy to name her son.  _ Adam _ , the first man, the king who would guide Eternia onto a new path. But her daughter went without a name for several days.  _ Eve  _ would just be weird,  _ Amelia _ didn’t sound princess-y enough, and the names Randor suggested were too ridiculous for her to handle. Who names their kid  _ Veena _ ? The name came to her after she’d visited the wreckage of her ship locked away in the palace’s museum. She stared at the broken vessel, and remembered that all the souvenirs she’d brought hadn’t survived the crash. The pictures of her family, a keychain her brother had bought for her birthday, and a beat up  _ Wonder Woman  _ comic that she’d owned since she was little. She remembered flipping through the pages, flashlight in hand, as Wonder Woman beat up bad guys and saved people. 

Marlena didn’t recall much of the comic’s plot, but she remembered the hero’s name.  _ Diana _ . It was a good name. A strong name. Her daughter would be just as brave, just as heroic, and just as strong as the hero Marlena grew up worshipping. And so, the princess finally got a name. A name that still haunts Marlena whenever she falls asleep, or whenever she drifts near Adam’s old room. The purplish light of a portal flashes in her eyes when she closes them. It is a curse; a burden she must bear for the price of her failure. 

The day Marlena lost her daughter, it was snowing. It rarely snowed on Eternia- the technology keeping the planet in between dimensions didn’t create any variation in weather. It was always sunny, even when Eternians inevitably had to sleep. Her husband had seemed alarmed when they’d woke up to tiny flakes drifting in the air. 

“There’s a rip between dimensions,” he’d explained. “A portal will probably open soon.” 

“A portal?” Her heart sped up. Portals were not just tiny holes in space, they could fling someone across dimensions with no way back home. It had been a portal that had brought her to Eternia. “Who's trying to open it? Has the Horde found us? Randor, the children-” 

“-Will be fine.” He kissed her, brushing her hair away from her face. “Marley, the Horde has no idea we still exist. Besides, most portals form naturally and disappear within seconds. It will probably appear in the sky. It is far more difficult to generate one on the ground.” She relaxed, though her heart still pounded. She should listen to Randor. She didn’t know anything about portals, anything about the technology that kept their planet hidden. She had to stop worrying. 

A baby’s cry stopped her train of thought. Soon, another infant’s cries joined the commotion. 

“Twins,” Randor said. “It’s like they’re connected.” 

Randor went to check on Adam, and Marlena raced to comfort Diana. The twins had been put in separate rooms in a desperate effort to keep them from always crying. It didn’t seem to work. If Diana cried, Adam would soon follow. If Adam cried, Diana showed no hesitation in joining her brother. It annoyed Marlena, but she secretly found it charming. Her children would be so close. There was nothing that would keep them apart. 

“Oh, Diana,” she whispered, leaning over her daughter’s cradle. “What’s wrong?” Her daughter stopped sobbing and reached out towards her mother. “Is it the snow? It’s not scary, I promise. Look.” She raised her daughter toward the window. Diana pressed a hand against the glass, smiling at the sight of snowflakes. “You know, I haven’t seen much snow either. Do you know how warm it is in Florida?” Diana stopped smiling, and Marlena put her back in the crib. 

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she said. “There are worse states.” She turned around, satisfied that her daughter was calm. Perhaps she could get a little more sleep before getting ready for the day. Being queen was not an easy job. A part of her was glad that Diana wouldn’t inherit the throne. Her daughter was free to forge her own destiny. 

She opened the door when she saw a flash of light. Diana screamed, and Marlena just had time to see her daughter fall through a portal before it closed. She lunged and crashed into the crib. “No,” she said, “no, no, no. Randor! Help!” 

The guards found her collapsed on the floor, crying and shouting her daughter’s name. 

  
  


The first months after Diana’s disappearance were the worst. She cursed Randor, she cursed Eternia, and she cursed herself. How could this have happened. Portals were natural, random occurrences. How could one have opened in her daughter’s bedroom, far away from the chaos of space? 

“It was deliberate,” Randor said, rubbing circles into her back as she cried. “Marley, I am so sorry. I thought- I thought we were safe.” 

“So she is lost to the Horde?” She faced her husband. “Forever?” 

“Perhaps,” Randor murmured, his eyes glazed over. Then, he froze, dropping his hand. “No-” 

“What is it?” she demanded. “Who took Diana?” 

Randor didn’t answer. 

Her next step was easy. It was easy to slip away from her and Randor’s bed, put on her cloak, and sneak out of the palace. It wasn’t as easy making the walk through the forest to Castle Grayskull, an old castle hidden by trees. She breathed in the thick scent of ozone and knew she was close. Lightning crackled as she pushed past the final branch to reveal an old building made of stone, with a skull carved into its entrance. Stepping through the door- and the mouth of the skull by extension- she called out, “Sorceress! I demand you speak with me!” 

She’d only met the Sorceress once, right after she’d crashed on Eternia. The woman hadn’t changed at all. She still had the same fiery red hair decorated with feathers, and the same sad brown eyes. According to Randor, she wasn’t really a Sorceress. Magic had disappeared from Eternia a long time ago. Marlena had a feeling that wasn’t the case. The Sorceress radiated power. The queen bowed, not wanting to make an enemy. 

“Please,” she said, forcing her voice to be soft, “My daughter was taken from me. I need you to get her back.” 

“My queen,” the Sorceress responded. The woman waved her hand and moved. Marlena followed. “I have heard what has befallen your family. A tragic twist of fate. What do you wish for me to do?” 

Marlena blinked. Hadn’t she already said that? “Find her.” 

“I cannot. My power only extends to Eternia. I cannot reach across dimensions as you wish for me to do.” 

She grit her teeth, but she wasn’t done. “Tell me the truth then,” she demanded. “Who took her? Surely you of all people should know that.” Randor had to know. She’d seen the look on her husband’s face: the frown, the tenseness in his jaw, the furrowed brows. Marlena loved her husband, but she did not trust him. There always seemed to be something missing with his stories of old Eternia, of his ancestors, and of the Horde. There was some piece to the puzzle she was missing. “Was it the Horde?” 

“No.” Marlena sighed in relief. “It was us, Your Majesty. The old Eternians. The First Ones, as they called us.” 

“You took my daughter? Where is she?” 

Before Marlena could attack, the Sorceress raised a hand. The queen found herself frozen, unable to move. “I am sorry, Majesty. Let me explain. Randor says his ancestors were explorers. They were not. They were conquerors.” Images bombarded Marlena’s mind of people- Eternians- invading new planets, stealing relics and destroying cities. “They sucked magic out of every place they went to, wanting more of it for themselves. Of course, it wasn’t enough for them to have more magic. They wanted to have the personification of magic itself.” 

“I-” This was too much. Marlena’s mind was like mush as she tried to process so much information. “What are you talking about?” 

More images. This time, of a woman with flowing white hair and brown skin holding a sword, shouting ‘ _ For the honor of Grayskull! _ ’. The woman, now with brown hair, exploring a new planet, admiring the golden wisps of magic that played in the forest. “She-Ra,” the Sorceress explained, “is  _ magic _ . Her power transfers from woman to woman, traveling the universe with each life. Finally, she was born an Eternian, a woman named Mara.” 

The Sorceress shook her head, smiling, like she was reflecting on an old memory. “With She-Ra now an Eternian, our people constructed a sword and told Mara it was the only way to access her power. And Mara believed it. She believed it so strongly that she thought the sword was the only way to become She-Ra, so  _ She-Ra _ ’s magic believed that to be true as well. Only an Eternian could use the sword. So-” 

“Only an Eternian could be She-Ra.” Marlena wrung her hands. She had a feeling where this story was headed. “What does this have to do with my daughter, Sorceress? I don’t-” she stopped. “I care about Diana. Not Mara.” 

The Sorceress frowned. “Then you are more like your husband than I suspected. Our rulers were delighted. They could have all the power in the universe, and none of the people they oppressed would ever be able to fight against She-Ra. They’d even constructed a weapon out of the latest planet they discovered, Etheria. With it, they’d have the power to destroy the universe.” 

She closed her eyes. “So Randor is a liar, then. I am a queen of monsters.” 

“No, Marlena,” the Sorceress said gently. “No Eternian is born evil. Mara turned against our people. She hid Etheria in another dimension- a dimension I cannot find. She was a hero.” 

“That’s where Diana is, isn’t it?” She wanted to sob. “Etheria. She’s lost in some other dimension forever.” 

“I am sorry, Majesty.” The Sorceress placed her hand on Marlena’s shoulder, and the queen could move again. “You will return to your husband. He will tell you that remnants of the old Etheria, before we had to hide ourselves, took your daughter. He will tell you that she is She-Ra, a monster who cannot be saved. I’m afraid Eternia has never forgiven Mara for her betrayal. But that is not the truth.” 

Marlena glared. “I’m going to-” 

“Your husband is not lost, my queen,” the Sorceress said. “He is not a liar. He just says what he believes to be true. Your daughter, the first She-Ra in a thousand years, will defeat the Horde. She will free Eternia from its hiding, and she will guide our people into a better future.” 

“Will-” she swallowed. She thought of Diana- beautiful, perfect Diana- as She-Ra. “Will I ever see her again?” 

“Yes, Majesty,” the Sorceress said, and then said the words that gave Marlena the tiny sliver of hope she needed to survive: “It is just a matter of time.” 


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlena deals with life without her daughter. A stranger crash lands on Eternia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess ill just post another chapter. Noelle stevenson if u make a she ra movie please put Marlena in it she's awesome. (also Adora deserves loving parents and a brother. dont @ me) 
> 
> Hope u guys enjoy!

The day after her visit to the Sorceress, Marlena started her garden. Eternian roses came in way more colors- purple, green, yellow- and she spread them around the palace courtyard. Everyone knew that when the queen went to her garden, it was best to leave her alone. The garden was where she reflected. It was where she tried to bury her grief and anger over Diana’s disappearance, hoping it would become something beautiful. It didn’t work. Every day when she saw only her son running around the palace, she felt the hole in her heart get wider and wider, consuming more of her everyday. 

“Diana’s gone, Marley,” Randor had said. “I- She-Ra took her. It’s taken over her soul. There’s nothing we can do.” 

“Why are you saying that?” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “You have no evidence. All you have are- are fairy tales! That’s it!” 

Her husband buried his face in his hands. “The data indicates that old Eternian systems opened the portal.” He shook his head. “The Light Hope program has still been searching for She-Ra candidates. And now she chose Diana.” 

“But that doesn’t mean she’s gone,” Marlena insisted. “Why are you so against She-Ra anyways?” 

“Because She-Ra is a  _ traitor _ ,” Randor spat. “The last She-Ra abandoned us, and Prime nearly killed us all as a result. She  _ corrupted  _ She-Ra’s spirit. Now She-Ra just wants to finish the job and kill us.” 

“But what if the last She-Ra believed she was right? What if she had a good reason?” 

“She betrayed  _ all  _ Eternians, Marlena,” Randor sighed. “Look, I know not all of the old Eternians were perfect. But we didn’t deserve to die.” He reached for her hands and squeezed them. “If Mara- the last She-Ra- had her way, I wouldn’t exist.  _ Our son  _ wouldn’t exist. I just don’t know how our daughter can survive that brainwashing.” 

“Randor.” Marlena sat down beside her husband, leaning against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. “Diana will come back. Please, when that happens, give her a chance. For me.” 

Randor didn’t answer. But from the way he kissed the top of her head, she knew she’d started to change his mind. 

  
  


In the absence of her daughter, Marlena had to direct all her love towards her son. Adam was her life. Marlena woke up early every day to make him breakfast, just like her mom did back in Jacksonville. She gave him a kiss on the cheek every day before he started his lessons with tutors. When he was young, she swept him into hugs every chance she got before his protests got a little too frequent. 

She was the mother of two children. Now, she only had one. Every act of love towards Adam was her way of showing love for Diana. She wished her daughter knew just how much Marlena loved her. How much love she’d give her every day if she only had the chance. 

One night, soon after Adam’s sixth birthday, she awoke to a quiet knocking on her bedroom door. Randor still snored on, and Marlena rolled her eyes. She got up and straightened out her nightgown, and opened the door. 

“Your Majesty,” a guard said. “The prince wishes to speak with you.” He stepped aside revealing her son clutching his blanket, sniffling. Marlena shooed the guard away and closed the door, wiping away a tear from Adam’s face. 

“Honey, what’s wrong?” 

Adam sniffled again. Marlena brought her son over to the bed and woke Randor by shaking his shoulders. Adam climbed onto the bed, burying his face in the blanket. 

“Adam,” Randor gripped his son’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, son?” 

“I-” her son hiccuped. “I had a nightmare.” 

“Do you want to tell us?” Marlena brushed the hair away from her son’s forehead. 

“There was this scary lady,” Adam said. “She- she was doing weird stuff.” 

“Like what?” Randor said. 

“She- there was this red stuff- and she hurt Teela!” Teela was the daughter of Duncan, Randor’s closest advisors. She and Adam were glued at the hip. “Teela couldn’t- she couldn’t move, Daddy. And the scary lady said it was my fault!” 

“Adam,” Randor’s deep voice echoed throughout the room. “This woman does not exist. Teela is safe. What you dreamed was not real.” 

“But it felt real.” Adam hung his head down. “She said I have to control Teela.” A small part of her wanted to laugh at that. Teela fantasized about leading the palace guard, and it was usually  _ Teela  _ that controlled Adam. But the haunted look on her son’s face scared her. “She really scared me.”

“Baby.” Marlena hugged him. “We will never let anything bad happen to you or Teela, understand?” 

Slowly, her son nodded. She hugged him again, and Adam spent the rest of the night squeezed between her and Randor. As she watched her son drift off to sleep, she thought about the promise she’d made to Adam. She’d promised to keep her son safe. Dread sunk into her as she watched her son sleep. She knew kids had nightmares. But something about Adam’s seemed very, very real. 

  
  
  
  


“Mom, a strange lady almost crushed me!” 

Marlena whipped around, and saw Adam charge into the throne room. Her son was covered in dirt, his eyes wide as he rushed to explain. “I was walking with Cringer, and I thought she was a really big bird at first, but-” He shook his head. “Just come with me.” 

She followed her son, both of them racing through the palace. A crash? How could someone have gotten through the barriers keeping Eternia safe, much less crashed through it?” They reached the gardens, and Marlena could see a slim figure masked by gigantic wings hunched over, groaning in pain. An Avionian? The figure didn’t resemble Stratos or any of his people, but what else could she be? 

The figure turned out to be a woman with light purple skin and pink flowing hair. She ordered the guards to prepare a stretcher- there was no way they could heal the woman in the gardens- and gestured to Adam to come over. 

“How did she get here?” Adam wrung his hands. “I mean, we’re safe from the Horde, right?” 

Her stomach twisted. This woman could’ve only gotten to Eternia through a portal, whether it was made deliberately or not. A part of Marlena wondered if this woman was an old Eternian- maybe one of Stratos’s ancestors. Was this woman one of her daughter’s kidnappers? 

She shook her head. A queen couldn’t let her emotions control her behavior. There was no evidence to indicate that theory, so Marlena couldn’t treat it as the truth. 

“What is your name?” 

The woman blinked, coughing. “Adora…..?” Then, she slumped, with Adam reaching to catch her head before it hit the ground. 

Marlena saw the woman was still breathing and sighed in relief. 

“So this Adora lady,” Adam said, “who is she?” 

The guards arrived with the stretcher. Marlena and Adam helped lift the woman onto it. It was not an easy task. The wings kept smacking her face, but eventually they got the woman- Adora?- on the way to the Healing Room. 

Randor stood in the hall, watching as the woman passed. He frowned and his fists were clenched. 

Marlena sighed. Her husband had already decided the woman was an enemy. 

“We will have to find out, my son,” she told Adam. “I have a feeling it’s not going to be easy.” 

She pulled aside one of the Healers. “Once that woman is conscious, I want to speak with her.” Remembering Randor’s expression, she added, “Alone.” 

“But, your Majesty,” the Healer protested, “she could be dangerous.” 

“I will be fine,” she assured. “I just have a feeling this woman has answers we need.” 

  
  


It had been a day since the strange woman had crash landed on Eternia. Randor had increased security around the palace. Everywhere she looked, she could see a guard. Most of them stared ahead, but she saw a few looking upwards, probably wondering if they would have other guests arriving. 

“Marley, I’m not taking any chances,” Randor had said. “Not with you and Adam. This woman could be a part of the Horde!” 

“I thought the Horde was made up of clones. Clones of the Horde’s  _ male _ leader.” 

Randor turned away, facing the window. Nights- or the lack of them- on Eternia would always be eerie. Here they were, tired and in their sleepwear, yet the sun still shone. “It’s been a thousand years since we hid ourselves away. I don’t even want to know what the galaxy looks like. I’d be surprised if Horde Prime hasn’t conquered every planet in existence.” 

_ Not unlike your ancestors _ , she thought. 

“Or maybe he’s dead,” she said, “and we’ve been hiding for no reason. It might be time to rejoin the universe.” 

Her husband grumbled, and Marlena wrapped her arms around him. “I’m going to speak to that woman. Whether you like it or not.” 

“I don’t.” 

She smiled. In some ways, Randor hadn’t changed a bit from the stubborn young king who’d found her in that wreckage. 

“She’s not the only person who crashed here,” she said. “I think she did it with more style than me.” 

“But you,” he reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles, “did not have a suspicious bone in your body.” 

“I think my femur’s a little iffy.” 

Her husband sighed, shifting, and cupped her face. “I will interrogate our guest tomorrow.” 

“And?” 

He smiled slightly. “And you will join me.” 

The woman’s wings had to be tied back so she’d fit on the bed; it made her appear even skinnier than before. Her pink hair was matted and her face was covered in bruises, which was to be expected after crashing into a planet with no armor. 

Moments after the guards left the room, the woman blinked her eyes open, before settling them on Marlena. “Adora……..?” she said weakly. Marlena reached for the water by the woman’s bed, but the woman didn’t take it. Instead, she only stared at Marlena like a ghost had entered the room. “How...portal….?”

She froze.  _ Portal _ . She looked at her husband. Randor’s jaw clenched and he gripped his staff. 

“Is Adora your name?” Marlena ignored the question of her age, but hoped the woman didn’t see any gray hairs. “You said that to me earlier, when you first landed.” 

“No,” the woman shook her head. “You’re….not Adora?” 

She turned to Randor, who nodded for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, she said, “My name is Marlena. This is my husband, Randor. What is your name?” 

The woman blinked several times, groaning in pain. “My name is-” the woman froze, “-Angie. I’m afraid I don’t know where I am.” 

_ Angie.  _ Marlena knew that wasn’t her real name. It was too human, too Earth-like. Hell, a girl named Angie had bullied Marlena in seventh grade, though she didn’t have wings or pink hair. 

“We’re not with the Horde, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. 

The woman smiled, slumping against the bed, though her expression hardened almost instantly. “I do not think that is possible. There are no neutral kingdoms left on Etheria, and I have never heard of either of you.” 

“You’re from Etheria?” 

Hope that had barely been restrained now flooded her mind. This woman came from Etheria through a portal. Did she know Diana? “Yes. Where else would I be from?” 

“Angie,” Randor said, “I am afraid you have traveled very far. You mentioned a portal. Did you open one?” He narrowed his brows at Angie, and shifted his seat to be closer to Marlena. 

“No,” Angie replied. “That was the Horde.” 

“The Horde is still active?” Randor stood up, stepping in front of Marlena. “They opened a portal to Etheria?” 

Angie blinked. “The Horde has been active for over a hundred years,” she said, eyebrows raised. “The Rebellion is the only thing standing in their way.” 

“I haven’t heard of any Rebellion against the Horde,” Randor said slowly. “The only force that could withstand the Horde’s might were the Eternians, led by the Royal House of Grayskull.” A pause. “My ancestors.” 

Angie gasped. “Grayskull?” She shook her head rapidly. “You-  _ Adora _ -” 

“Who is Adora?” Marlena said. “You said that name before.” 

“I-” Angie leaned forward. “You are Eternians? First Ones?” 

“The Etherians called my people the First Ones.” 

“And you-” she pointed to Marlena. “You are his wife? You are members of House Grayskull?” 

“Yes,” Marlena said. “Is that a problem?” 

“I-” Angie leaned back and shook her head. “No. I am just surprised. We all thought the First Ones to be dead.” 

They spent the next few minutes asking Angie more questions. She didn’t answer any of them. Her eyes were fixed on Marlena’s face. Eventually, Randor gave up and summoned the healers, telling Angie to get some rest. The woman still stared at Marlena as she left the room. 

“Randor,” she said, “she could know Diana.” 

“I know.” 

“She came through a portal.” 

“I know.” 

“So Diana can come through one too.” 

“I know, Marley.” 

“I’m going to ask her about our daughter. You know that, right?” 

“Of course.” He kissed her. “I will too.” 


End file.
